Oct. 10 * Louisiana-Lafayette 38, North Texas 34 (Sun Belt Network) * FIU 37, WKU 20
Sun Belt Conference Upcoming Games
Oct. 13 * Arkansas State at ULM (ESPN2) - 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 Mississippi St. at Middle Tennessee (ESPNU) - 11:30 a.m. * Troy at FIU - 6 p.m. * Louisiana-Lafayette at WKU - 6 p.m. * FAU at North Texas (Sun Belt Network) - 7 p.m.
Oct. 24 * WKU at Middle Tennessee (Sun Belt Network) - 2:30 p.m. * North Texas at Troy (Troy/ISP Network) - 2:30 p.m. * Florida Atlantic at Louisiana-Lafayette - 4 p.m. * FIU at Arkansas State - 6 p.m. ULM at Kentucky - TBA
Sun Belt Conference News & Notes
Sun Belt Attendance on the Rise Teams from the Sun Belt Conference helped the league to a new all-time single season attendance record for both overall and per game average attendance last year. Last season's numbers were also the largest increase in average in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The league also averaged nearly 2,000 more fans per game than the Mid-American Conference.
Sun Belt in the BCS The Sun Belt Conference is a BCS Conference. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference is one of just 11 BCS Conferences. The Sun Belt Conference champion will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if that team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings or if that team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the of BCS bowls. In the first 10 years of the BCS arrangement, more than $100 million was distributed to conferences that do not have an annual automatic berth to one of the BCS bowls. In 2009, nine percent of the net revenues from the BCS arrangement (approximately $9.5 million) is guaranteed in aggregate to Conference USA, the Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Conferences for their participation in the BCS arrangement. When a team from one of those five conferences plays in BCS bowl game, those conferences receive an additional nine percent of net revenues. When more than one team from those conferences play in a BCS bowl game, those conferences will receive an additional $4.5 million for each additional team.
Sun Belt Football Membership The Sun Belt Conference is currently comprised of nine football playing members - Arkansas State (founding football member in 2001), Florida Atlantic (joined league as football member in 2005), FIU (joined league as football member in 2005), Louisiana-Lafayette (founding football member in 2001), ULM (founding football member in 2001), Middle Tennessee (founding football member in 2001), North Texas (founding football member in 2001), Troy (joined league as football member in 2004) and Western Kentucky University (will begin full competition in 2009) The league will expand to 10 football playing members when South Alabama enters in 2012.
Sun Belt Boasts Winning Bowl Record in Last Three Seasons Over the last three seasons the Sun Belt Conference has represented itself well in the postseason. In fact the Sun Belt Conference boasts a winning record of 3-2 in its five bowl appearances in the last three seasons.
2006 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Troy 41, Rice 17 2006 Motor City Bowl - Central Michigan 31, Middle Tennessee 14 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Florida Atlantic 44, Memphis 17 2008 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Miss 30, Troy 27 (OT) 2008 Motor City Bowl - Florida Atlantic 24, Central Michigan 21
Sun Belt Ties Conference Mark for Bowl Eligible Teams A record tying number of teams reached bowl eligibility last season when four teams (Troy, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, and Louisiana-Lafayette) reached the six-win plateau to become eligible for a postseason bid. In 2006 the Sun Belt also had four bowl eligible teams (Troy, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Arkansas State) and two of those teams were selected to bowl games. 2008 also marked the first time that a 6-6 Sun Belt team (Florida Atlantic) was selected for a postseason bowl game.
Sun Belt Sends Two to Bowls For the third time in the Sun Belt Conference's brief eight year history of football the league sent multiple teams to postseason bowl games in 2008. Outright league champion Troy represented the league in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. It was the Trojans second trip to that bowl game, having played in the Superdome in 2006 as well. Troy has played in three bowl games since joining the Sun Belt in 2004. In their inaugural season in 2004 the Trojans played in the Silicon Valley Football Classic. Joining Troy in the postseason was Florida Atlantic, which rolled to a victory over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl. The Owls made their second postseason appearance in as many years, having defeated Memphis in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The two other seasons the Sun Belt sent two teams to bowl games were 2006 (Troy - R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Middle Tennessee - Motor City Bowl) and 2004 (North Texas - R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Troy - Silicon Valley Football Classic).
Notable Wins Bolster Sun Belt Conference By playing at the highest level of collegiate football - the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Bowl Championship Series - Sun Belt Conference teams continue to face noted big name programs. Sun Belt teams don't just compete though - teams from the SBC are consistently notching wins in these contests. In the opening week of the season last year, Arkansas State defeated Texas A&M which snapped the Aggies' 20-game winning streak in home openers and handed them just their fourth loss over their last 50 non-conference home games. The next week Middle Tennessee won its first-ever home game against a team from a BCS guaranteed conference with the win over Maryland. In previous season teams from the Sun Belt have taken down powers such as Alabama, Missouri, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State.
Sun Belt Conference Sweeps Mid-American Conference in 2008 Season A year after finishing ahead of the Mid-American Conference in the USA Today Sagarin Ratings, the Sun Belt Conference took advantage of its opportunities against teams from the MAC in 2008. Louisiana-Lafayette defeated Kent State 44-27 on September 13 and FIU took a 35-16 win at Toledo on September 27. To cap off a perfect season against the MAC, Florida Atlantic defeated Central Michigan 24-21 in the Motor City Bowl.
Sun Belt Conference Bowl Partners In addition to the Sun Belt Conference's tie-in with the BCS, the league has been a proud and successful partner with the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl since its inception in 2001. A team from the Sun Belt Conference will play a Conference USA opponent on December 20th in the Louisiana Superdome in that game. Additionally, teams from the Sun Belt Conference can be selected to play in the Papjohns.com Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl, and Independence Bowl if the primary contracted partners are unable to fulfill their obligations to those bowl games.
Florida Atlantic Takes Back-to-Back Bowl Wins Florida Atlantic became the first team to win bowl games in back-to-back seasons since the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. The Owls defeated Central Michigan 24-21 in the 2008 Motor City Bowl and defeated Memphis in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl for the front end of the achievement.
Sun Belt Conference and ESPN Agree to New Deal A new agreement with ESPN will give the Sun Belt Conference's rising football league a minimum of two games on either ESPN or ESPN2 each season. Additionally, ESPN Regional Television will have the right to produced, distribute and syndicate up to five football games each year. ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will also be granted additional opportunities to select games to air. This trio of networks will be granted a 12 day rolling window during the season to select additional games to televise. Games available for selection are after the third Saturday of the season. This provides the Sun Belt Conference additional opportunities for exposure previously not available.
Five Trojans Named to Lombardi Watch List Oklahoma, Florida, and Troy. How is that for a 1, 2, 3 ranking? When the 40th annual Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List was announced this preseason that is exactly how teams in the FBS ranked based on the number of players on the list. Five members of the Troy squad were listed and only Oklahoma (7) and Florida (6) had more players on the list, which included 153 players from 79 teams and 11 conferences. The five Trojans on the list are senior defensive ends Brandon Lang and Cameron Sheffield, senior linebackers Boris Lee and Bear Woods and senior center Danny Franks.
Arnold Takes Aim at Joining Elite List Arkansas State's Reggie Arnold enters his senior campaign as the nation's third leading rusher among active players with a career total of 3,210 yards. Arnold can also become just the eighth player in NCAA history to post four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons if he can surpass the mark again in 2009. Tyrell Fenroy, Tony Dorsett, Amos Lawrence, Denvis Manns, Ron Dayne, Cedric Benson and DonTrell Moore are the only players in NCAA history with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Blakeney a Hall of Famer Larry Blakeney entered his 40th year as a football coach this fall as he leads the Troy University Trojans onto the field. But the veteran coach added to his list of accomplishments this offseason as he was named to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Joining Blakeney in the class of 2009 are Steve Bolt, Tommy Brooker, Jimmy Key, Janelle Godfrey, Charley Hannah, Lee May and John Mitchell. The class will bring the total number of members of the Hall of Fame to 281, a list that includes five of the top 15 all-time athletes, according to ESPN.
Sun Belt Conference Alumni In the 2008 NFL Draft the Buffalo Bills selected three time All-Sun Belt Conference performer Leodis McKelvin from Troy with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the Draft. McKelvin signed a five-year, $19.4 million contract with the Bills with up to $12.6 million in bonuses. McKelvin, a defensive back and explosive kick returner, was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November 2008. In the five November games, McKelvin compiled five tackles, three pass breakups, two interceptions including one that he returned 64 yards for a touchdown in a win at Kansas City. McKelvin also exploded onto the national stage as a premier kick returner taking one back for a 98-yard touchdown in the Monday Night Football game against Cleveland.
2007 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tyrell Johnson from Arkansas State was drafted by the Vikings in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Johnson, a safety, finished his rookie season starting 7 of 16 games, recording 31 tackles. His seven starts helped propel the Vikings to the NFC North Division Championship and a playoff berth for the Vikings - the first playoff appearance for the Vikings since 2004.
2004 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year DeMarcus Ware from Troy was drafted 11th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Ware has quickly turned into one of the NFL's premier defensive players as he has been selected to the Pro Bowl in three of his four seasons with the Cowboys. So far in Ware's young career he has recorded 299 tackles, 53.5 sacks, 61.0 tackles for a loss, 18 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries (one of which he returned 69 yards for a touchdown) 13 passes defended and 1 interception which he returned 41 yards for a touchdown in 64 NFL games. Ware had a league-high 20 sacks in 2008 and finished second in the voting for the NFL Associated Press' Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Osi Umenyiora is another noted talent making headlines in the NFL. Umenyiora played for Troy and is currently a member of the New York Giants defensive front. Umenyiora, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, had 13 sacks in 2007 and helped the Giants to an NFL regular season-leading 53 sacks. This pass rush was pivotal in the Super Bowl XLII victory over the New England Patriots.
Louisiana-Lafayette has a history of sending talented players to the NFL. Brian Mitchell was one such player to make an impact in the NFL from Louisiana-Lafayette. Mitchell is the NFL's second all time leader in total yardage. In his second season with the Washington Redskins, Mitchell led the NFL in punt return yards (600) and punt return touchdowns (two), assisting his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXVI, where Washington defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24. Mitchell continued to play for the Redskins until 1999, leading the NFL in punt return average(14.1) and touchdowns (two) in 1994, and making a Pro Bowl selection in 1995.
Another former Louisiana-Lafayette player to make and impact in the NFL is Jake Delhomme of the Carolina Panthers. Delhomme was selected to the 2005 Pro Bowl and led the Panthers through to Super Bowl XXXVIII to face the New England Patriots. Charles Tillman of the Chicago Bears was selected with the 35th overall pick, third in the second round, of the 2003 NFL Draft from Louisiana-Lafayette.
Notable former professional football players from Sun Belt schools include Joe "Mean Joe" Greene (North Texas), and Stan Humphries (Louisiana-Monroe). Former Cleveland Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel is a graduate of Western Kentucky University.
Sun Belt Conference Team News & Notes
Arkansas State Red Wolves ASU finished with 216 passing yards, its second most of the season, against an Iowa defense that was giving up an average of 171.5 passing yards per game and was ranked 32nd in the nation in pass defense heading into the game.
ASU's 21 points scored were the most allowed by Iowa this season. Iowa's opponents were averaging just 11.5 points per game, ranking Iowa 8th in the nation in scoring defense at the start of the game.
Corey Leonard threw his third and fourth TD passes of the season against Iowa and now has 44 for his career, leaving him four shy of tying the school record. Leonard completed a season-high 22 passes (3 short of his career high), topping his previous season high of 12 set against Troy the week prior. Leonard threw his first interception of the season, ending his streak of consecutive passes without an interception at 79. He threw for a season-high 216 yards as well, giving him 6,569 yards for his career and moving him past Brian Lindgren (Idaho, 2001-03) for the fourth most yards in Sun Belt Conference history.
ASU scored two of three times when inside the red zone and has now scored on 13 of its 14 trips inside the red zone for the entire season.
Brandon Thompkins recorded his second TD reception of the season against Iowa. Both of his TD's came over the last two games and he now has five for his career. Thompkins set a new career high for receptions with eight. He now has 12 receptions for 158 yards and 2 TD's over last two games.
ASU will play its second straight nationally televised game when it plays ULM on ESPN2 on Oct. 13.
ASU has played ULM 30 times, which is the fifth most in school history among all opponents . . . ULM leads the all-time series with Arkansas State 16-14 since the first meeting in 1959. As Sun Belt foes, ASU leads the series 5-3 after winning 37-29 last season at ASU Stadium.
Florida Atlantic Owls The Owls used the bye week to develop as a team and to get extra snaps for the younger players. FAU will travel to North Texas this weekend in an effort to secure not only the first win of the season but the first Sun Belt victory of 2009. The Owls hold a perfect record against UNT but no game has ever been easy - usually coming down to a turnover or late interception.
FAU may prove to be a different team than the Mean Green has faced in previous years. Sophomore Alfred Morris has proven to be hard to stop and senior quarterback Rusty Smith will look to build a consistent air attack and look to get into the endzone. Something that has alluded the Owls in 2009.
Defensively, Dino Cox leads the squad in sacks and Michael Lockley continues in the ways of dominate linebackers for the Owls with double digit tackles in each of his first four outings.
FIU Golden Panthers FIU picked up its first victory of 2009, beating WKU 37-20. In the game, FIU had success both through the air and on the ground as the Panthers passed for 280 yards and ran for 206.
Paul McCall led the way for FIU, completing 14 of 22 passes for 280 yards and a couple of scores. On the opening drive of the game McCall connected with Greg Ellingson twice, first for a 32-yard gain on the second play of the game and then for a 19-yard touchdown strike. The touchdown marked the first time this year that FIU has scored on its opening drive of a contest. McCall kept it going all game long, eventually finding Ty Frierson for a 40-yard touchdown. McCall also had FIU's longest play of the year, hooking up with Ellingson for a 65 yard strike in the third quarter.
On the ground, senior Daunte Owens led the way with 80 yards on 17 carries. He also found the endzone twice. Sophomore Darriet Perry added 79 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
Defensively, the Panthers allowed the least amount of points they have given up this season. Junior linebacker Toronto Smith led the way, picking up six tackles, half a sack and a key interception late in the game.
To round out the scoring, senior place kicker Dustin Rivest connected on three field goals. Two of the scores came on back-to-back drives where Rivest converted 39 yard field goals to put the game out of reach.
Sophomore wideout T.Y. Hilton extended his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 15 games, but his streak of games scoring or throwing for a touchdown ended at nine after Hilton was forced to leave the game in the first quarter with an injury.
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns The Cajuns will face Western Kentucky as a member of the Sun Belt Conference for the first time in school history. The meeting is the first in Bowling Green, but the schools have battled in Lafayette twice. ULL won 17-14 on Sept. 26, 1992 and 38-24 on Nov. 21, 1998. The Cajuns can even their all-time SBC record (currently 26-27), while head coach Rickey Bustle (24-23) looks to go two games over .500 in conference play for the first time ever. ULL has started 2-0 in the SBC just once, going 4-0 last season before finishing second in the standings at 5-2.
The Cajuns defense was on the field for 35:07 vs. North Texas, including 29:27 after three quarters. The defense has spent a lot of time on the field all season, as the offense's average time of possession is just 26:34 through five games.
ULL tight ends have combined for 31 receptions this season, while the wide receivers have combined for 40 total catches. The Cajuns have 18 penalties for 170 yards in 2009, while their opponents have 38 for 316 yards.
The Cajuns are 3-0 at home for the second straight season and third time overall under head coach Rickey Bustle. In fact, the Cajuns started 3-0 at home only three times from 1981-2003. ULL last started 3-0 at home in consecutive seasons in 1987-88.
Wide receiver Richie Falgout holds the NCAA record for consecutive touchdown passes to begin a career. The record was held by Michael McDonald, a former QB at USC, who completed his first two passes for touchdowns -- one in 2005 and another in 2006. Falgout's career passing line is 4-of-4 for 110 yards and four touchdowns. His career passing efficiency stands at 661.00.
ULM Warhawks ULM's 577 total offensive yards gained against FIU was the third most in the Weatherbie era.
The Warhawks have won the last four meetings against FIU by a combined 66 points and are 9-3 against both the Sun Belt Conference's Florida schools - Florida Atlantic (4-2), FIU (5-1).
2009 marks the first time in school history that the Warhawks have three wins through the first five games of the season with at least two of the three wins coming against a Division I-A (FBS) school.
The Warhawks are 20-9 under Charlie Weatherbie when scoring 27 points or more.
ULM's 48 points is the highest amount of points ever scored by the Warhawks in a Sun Belt Conference victory.
ULM's 24 points in the second quarter was the first time since Nov. 3, 2001 in which the Warhawks have scored 24 points in a quarter.
The Warhawks 304 rushing yards was the 19th time in the Weatherbie era that ULM surpassed the 200-yard mark. It is also the fourth highest mark during the Weatherbie era.
Frank Goodin's career-high 163 yards rushing moved him into sole possession of fifth place with 1,840 in his career. He is now 490 yards shy of tying fourth place all-time. Goodin's career-tying three rushing touchdowns gives him 17 for his career, tying seventh place all-time.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Dwight Dasher entered the Troy game ranked sixth nationally in total offense and first in touches per game. After a slow start, Dasher rebounded to account for 298 yards of Middle Tennessee total yardage of 354. Dasher, who went over the 200-yard passing mark for the fifth straight game, finished with 56 total touches, just shy of his national-leading 56.75 average coming into the game.
Dasher became the first Blue Raider signal-caller to top the 1,000-yard rushing mark since Marvin Collier (1985-88). Dasher rushed for 53 yards to bring his career total to 1,026 Collier is the Blue Raiders' all-time leading rusher from the quarterback spot with 1,652 yards.
With eight tackles against Troy, Danny Carmichael topped the 200-tackle mark for his career. Carmichael entered the game with 195 stops and now has 203 tackles for his career to become the first Blue Raider to top the 200-tackle mark since Keith Pauldo in 2000. Pauldo ended his career with 205 stops.
Carmichael forced his fourth fumble of the season to equal the single-season school record set by Sean Mosley in 2006. Carmichael, who leads the SBC in that category, now has seven for his career which equals the career mark set by Mike Caldwell from 1989 to 1992.
With five catches against Troy, senior Patrick Honeycutt moved into the top 10 all-time at Middle Tennessee in career receptions. Honeycutt now has 99 catches and is tied with Matt Lowe for 10th place on the career list.
North Texas Mean Green North Texas took a 3-0 lead on a 41-yard field goal by Jeremy Knott midway through the first quarter. It was the first time that the Mean Green has led since midway through the fourth quarter against Ohio in the second game of the year.
Freshman quarterback Riley Dodge threw an interception that was returned 70 yards for a ULL touchdown in the first quarter. It was the second time this year that a North Texas quarterback threw a pick-six, which includes Nathan Tune's interception that Ohio took back 69 yards for a score.
North Texas outgained ULL 98-32 in total offense in the first quarter, with the Mean Green running 23 plays while the Ragin' Cajuns ran just eight. Time of possession favored North Texas 11:07-3:53.
Lance Dunbar scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the year from 1-yard out to tie the game at 10 midway through the second quarter. Add a receiving touchdown and Dunbar now has five of the team's 10 touchdowns this season.
Dunbar rushed for his fourth rushing touchdown in the game late in the third quarter. The last time North Texas had a back rush for four touchdowns in a game was Jamario Thomas vs. Idaho in 2004. The four rushing touchdowns ties a North Texas record held by three players.
Troy Trojans The Trojans posted their fourth consecutive victory over Middle Tennessee in the annual "Battle for the Palladium". Over the last two games between the teams at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium, Troy has outscored the Blue Raiders 76-14 and held MTSU without a point for a stretch of 99 minutes and 15 seconds of clock time, from late in the first quarter of the 2007 game, to late in the third quarter this year.
Troy improved to 9-2 all-time in games played on one of the three primary ESPN channels. The Trojans' only losses on the ESPN family came in the 2004 Silicon Valley Football Classic and in the 2008 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Trojans coach Larry Blakeney improved to 80-12-1 in his career at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium with the victory over MTSU. In his 19th season at Troy, no team has ever beaten Blakeney more than once on Troy's home field.
Troy improved to 20-3 overall against Sun Belt foes dating back to the 2006 season and to 22-4 all-time at home against current members of the SBC. The Trojans' 20-3 record against league foes over the last three-plus seasons ranks fourth among all FBS schools. Only Boise State, Ohio State and BYU have better league records than Troy over the same stretch.
Freshman running back Shawn Southward, who is the only true freshman to have seen playing time for the Trojans this year, scored his first career touchdown on a 7-yard run in the first quarter against MTSU.
With 64 yards rushing against MTSU, junior DuJuan Harris moved up to 12th on Troy's career rushing yards list. Harris also stands 11th on the career rushing attempts list at Troy.
WKU Hilltoppers The Hilltoppers rushed for a season-high 263 yards last week against Florida International. WKU also ran for 200 yards earlier in the season against South Florida. WKU currently ranks fourth in the Sun Belt and 53rd in the nation averaging 160.2 rushing yards per contest.
The running back duo of sophomore Bobby Rainey and senior Marell Booker chewed up a big amount of those 263 yards. Rainey picked up 99 rushing yards for the second straight game - again tying a career high - on nine carries, while Booker ran for a season-high 62 yards on eight carries. Both also had long rushes of 37 and 31 yards, respectively. For Rainey, he is averaging 8.6 yards per rush over the last two games.
WKU's top three leading tacklers on the season added to their totals in a big way last week against FIU. Mark Santoro and Thomas Majors accounted for 12 stops each, and Taurean Smith posted 10 tackles. It was the second straight double-figure game for Majors and Smith they finished with 14 and 13 tackles, respectively, in the previous game at Navy.
This week's game between WKU and Louisiana-Lafayette will be the first meeting between the two schools since the finale of the 1998 season - a 38-24 ULL win in rainy conditions at Cajun Field. In fact, both previous meetings between the two schools have been played in Lafayette.
After missing two games due to a hamstring injury, senior wide receiver Jake Gaelber returned to the Hilltopper offense last Saturday, finishing with three catches for 24 yards and a 22-yards rush. His receiving numbers were significant as they moved him into some elite company. Gaebler is now tied with Jay Davis for second on WKU's career receptions list with 131. He has also moved into 10th all-time with 1,465 career receiving yards. He is now 19 catches away from becoming WKU's career receptions leader and breaking Curtis Hamilton's record of 149.
